COVERED SPRING 2021

7 @TRENTBRIDGE TOM MOORES the professional game, and one that is entirely the route of oneThomas James Moores. Tom Moores is a cricket man, but very much his own man. ********* Let’s start, somewhat illogically, at the end. Or at least with the most recent chapter of Moores’ Nottinghamshire story. The left-hander’s most recent appearance in green and gold came as he cradled the Vitality Blast trophy at a floodlit, empty Edgbaston. Mere hours before came the catch that is destined to feature on Outlaws highlights reels for all eternity. “As a keeper, all the hard work and practice you put in is for those moments – to take a diving catch, to change a game or influence an innings,” he says, as we chat over the phone. The limitations imposed by the pandemic mean that the usual stroll around a Nottinghamshire landmark is off limits. Moores is about to swap the dubious pleasure of quarantine in a snow-capped UK for life in the sunkissed bubble of Abu Dhabi’s T10 League. But, even over a telephone connection which at times brings out the Norman Collier in the Notts keeper, his intelli- gence, thoughtfulness and affection for the game are apparent. “It was all a bit of a blur at the time, and you don’t really think about what you’ve done until after the game when you see the replays – and all the people tagging you on social media,” he says. “The lads gave me a bit of stick after- wards – we were all having beers and I was scrolling through my socials, watching that catch, rewinding the video and watching it again. “It was a really nice moment, and this year’s win just meant a little bit more than 2017 to me, in some ways. “2017 was all a bit of a whirlwind – every time I walked out onto the field, it felt like a cup final.